Hi again guys,

I really want to get into fashion retouching, i've been practicing everyday at home, doing tons of photos, studying and reviewing every tutorial i can google, trying to learn every little thing before i get into the industry.

When i retouch, i always ask myself this, what else to do? after making the skin almost perfect, after making the pores tight, what then? is that all?

And so i ask this question to you guys, the professionals, and hopefully get some answers.
What are the common problems you encounter in fashion retouching?

Your help would be deeply appreciated guys.


thanks,

Giga

I am sure that everyone has their own formula, but this is simplified list of what I do.

1) I start by making sure that my fleshtones are good and that my image is properly color balanced.

2) Then I remove pimples and sores etc. and smooth out the skin.

3) I clone away wrinkles etc. onto a new layer that I call "reduce" (sample all layers needs to be turned on). Then I dial back the opacity on this layer to taste.

4) Whiten the teeth.

5) Whiten the "sclera" or whites of the eyes. Do a bit of dodging in the iris of the eye to add a little more depth then emphasize the eye's natural colour and add catch lights.

6) Sharpen the eyes/eyelashes, mouth/teeth, nostrils and any jewelry.

Sometimes, I add what I call "the Playboy glow". I make a duplicate flattened version the layered file then palce a duplicate of the background layer on top. I blur this layer then dial the opacity way back. I add a layer mask to the blurred layer and paint back in the detail of eyes/ mouth etc. with a soft edge brush using black. This reveals the sharp detail in those areas.

I hope this helps.

It really depends on what the client wants. There really is no definitive point in which to take all photographs. For instance you may have one client who demands no shine on the faces because of their overall campaign while another may want a more agressive contrasty image with catch lights and shine all over the place because it will best serve their visual strategy.

I would recommend deciding what type of retouch you are aiming for before you begin and then trying to reach that. A good way to do this is to take a magazine and find ads with a certain look. Then just pretend you are retouching your photograph for the next ad in that series. Try many differnt looks and you will have not only mastered more techniques but you will also have a more robust portfolio.

Best of luck